SEND YOUR FIRST ANDROID NOTIFICATION USING FCM(Firebase Cloud Messaging)

Subhra Kanti Mukherjee
3 min readJun 2, 2021

Abstract: Here I will be discussing about how we can send push notification messages to all users (of an Android app) using Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM)

1. Create an android project in Android Studio

2. Sign in to firebase with google credentials

3. Now go to the firebase console

(i). here create your own firebase project

Follow the subsequent steps. Then add your android app to the firebase clicking the symbol (for android).

(ii). link and register your android app to the project

4. In this process download the google-services.json config file. Put the file in you application’s root directory(just inside your android project’s app folder)

5. Add the firebase android SDK in the project level and app level build.gradle file:

Build.gradle(project leve):

Add the following line into repositories, dependencies and allprojects section.

// Top-level build file where you can add configuration options common to all sub-projects/modules.

buildscript {

repositories {

google()

}

dependencies {

classpath ‘com.google.gms:google-services:4.3.8’

}

}

allprojects {

repositories {

google()

}

}

6. Now modify the build.gradle file(app level):

Add the following lines

apply plugin: ‘com.android.application’

apply plugin: ‘com.google.gms.google-services’

dependencies {

implementation platform(‘com.google.firebase:firebase-bom:26.6.0’)

implementation ‘com.google.firebase:firebase-analytics’

implementation ‘com.google.firebase:firebase-messaging:17.3.4’

}

Remember to choose right firebase-bom library ‘com.google.firebase:firebase-bom:26.6.0’, otherwise build process may fail.

The above bom library will work well with Android sdk 21

7. Now sync the build.gradle file in Android Studio.

8. Make a subclass of FirebaseMessagingService

-> here override the method onMessageReceived(RemoteMessage remoteMessage)

-> get the title and body of the notification message from this RemoteMessage object. With remoteMessage.getTitle() get the title, with remoteMessage.getBody() get the notification message.

Below is the code:

package your.package.name;

import android.app.NotificationManager;

import android.app.PendingIntent;

import android.content.Context;

import android.content.Intent;

import androidx.core.app.NotificationCompat;

import com.google.firebase.messaging.FirebaseMessagingService;

import com.google.firebase.messaging.RemoteMessage;

public class FirebaseMessageReceiver extends FirebaseMessagingService {

@Override

public void onMessageReceived(RemoteMessage remoteMessage){

if(remoteMessage.getNotification() != null){

String title = remoteMessage.getNotification().getTitle();

String body = remoteMessage.getNotification().getBody();

addNotification(body);

}

}

@Override

public void onNewToken(String token){

}

private void addNotification(String msg){

//String channel_i = “AmarSchool Notification”;

NotificationCompat.Builder builder = new NotificationCompat.Builder(this)

.setSmallIcon(R.drawable.common_google_signin_btn_icon_dark)

.setContentTitle(“Test Notification”)

.setContentText(msg)

.setAutoCancel(true)

.setPriority(NotificationCompat.PRIORITY_DEFAULT)

.setChannelId(AdmActivity.CHANNEL_ID);

Intent notificationIntent = new Intent(this, MyActivity.class);

notificationIntent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TOP);

notificationIntent.putExtra(“message”,msg);

PendingIntent contentIntent = PendingIntent.getActivity(this, 0, notificationIntent, PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);

builder.setContentIntent(contentIntent);

NotificationManager manager = (NotificationManager)getSystemService(Context.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE);

manager.notify(0, builder.build());

}

}

9. Implement the Notification utilities in this subclass.

10. Keep your MainActivity unchanged.

11. In the app manifest add the following code inside the application tag:

<application

android:icon=”@mipmap/ic_launcher”

android:label=”@string/app_name”

android:theme=”@style/AppTheme”>

….. ……. ….. ….. …….

<service android:name=”.FirebaseMessageReceiver”>

<intent-filter>

<action android:name=”com.google.firebase.MESSAGING_EVENT” />

</intent-filter>

</service>

</application>

12. Now build the project and install it in your device.

13. Now again go to Firebase console. open your project. Go to cloud messaging.

  • > [We will go to project settings and collect the service accounts credentials when we will use our own server to put logic to the message sent to our clients(users of the said android app)]

14. Click on ‘Send your first message’.

(i)In the window following set the title and notification text

(ii) Now set the target. Choose your app(package name) as user segment

(iii) Click review, then publish

Your message will appear to your handset.

In our next topic I will discuss about sending Firebase Cloud messaging (FCM) through our own server.

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Subhra Kanti Mukherjee

A technological enthusiast, believes in Manmaking education. Willing to create Human Resources with value education endeavour.